Amanda Bestor-Siegal

Many young people dream of running off to Paris to live as an au pair and experience France, and Amanda Bestor-Siegal’s debut novel The Caretakers looks at a group of women living in the suburbs of Paris in 2015. At the center of the story there is a mysterious death that Bestor-Siegal unravels slowly through flashbacks and a variety of POVs that reveal different characters’ motivations and backstories. For me, this was an OK book with an interesting plot, but missed the mark with too much jumping around and no central character to hold it all together. Still a decent book for readers looking for a coming-of-age story with a mystery plot line who enjoy Paris as a setting.… (meer)

The Caretakers is set in a suburb of Paris and is focused on several young women who have traveled to Paris to work as au pairs. The book also reveals issues with the host families of the women, and other people in their lives, such as their own families.
The book opens when one of the au pairs has been arrested for murder of a young boy, one that she was caring for as part of her job. She is being questioned by the police. Then the book goes back to tell the story of the au pairs and their families, and what may have led to the incident.
I was excited to read this book based on the description, but sadly, I didn't find one likeable character in the book. The competitiveness and deceitfulness of one of the mothers, and her distance from her children, the au pairs and their drunken binges, the children who were odd and difficult - none of them warranted any sympathy from me.
I felt the best part of the book was the final few pages, when Lou finally did the right thing, and also had a realization about her host family.
Thanks to NetGalley and Book Club Girl / Harper Collins for the ARC. All opinions are my own and freely given.… (meer)

I looked forward to reading this beautiful book…from the stunning cover to the enticing jacket cover. Although the writing was beautiful and the storyline original, this read fell flat for me. One dimensional characters devoid of emotion, I really had no vested interest in any of the characters. So many storylines, some dissecting briefly. Too many parents that should not have become parents. Too many sad sacks that should not have been in charge of young children.

I would definitely give this new author another chance. Thanks to Amanda Bestor-Siegal, William Marrow and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.… (meer)

When Lou comes to Paris, she has quite different ideas from those of the family she works for as an au pair. Yet, her greatest concern is to leave behind her old life. Alena, another au pair, also has left much behind, but in contrast to her outgoing and loud colleague, she hardly speaks to any of the other girls and does not make friends in their language course. Holly first and foremost feels totally alone and only wants to be the friend of any of them. Geraldine, their teacher keeps them together and gathers information about the host families, especially the mothers. Such as Charlotte, who does not work but needs an au pair to comply with the social demands she perceives. Well, she actually does not have much time for her children as her marriage is beyond the point where anything could have put them together again and she prepares its final blow. For none of the inhabitants of the posh Parisian suburb anything is easy in the winter when the city is under terrorist attacks.

Amanda Bestor-Siegal has created quite a number of complex characters who are linked randomly even though they hardly share anything. The most striking aspect they all show is a feeling of being alone, being misunderstood by the world and questioning the decisions they have made. “The Caretakers” is about people who do not really take care, who cannot take care as they are not at ease with themselves. They try to comply with expectations they can never fulfil and are always at the fringe of total despair.

I found it easy to relate to some of the characters when their background is revealed and you get to understand how they could end up where they are at that point in their life. Showing the same event from different perspectives surely added to underline the complexity of their personalities and the mixed feelings they have. However, springing from one character to the next was a bit distracting and forced you to refocus again and again.

Throughout the novel there is also a mysterious aspect about a child’s death. Even though the quest for the answer of what happened could be felt, I could have done without that element as the focus was more on the characters and less on the mystery.

I enjoyed reading the novel due to the nuances in the characters’ emotions and minute differences in the cultures that are presented.… (meer)